By the time Sage finished healing everyone, he was completely wiped out.
He slumped against a tree and closed his eyes, too tired to even lift his arms.
Jasper had stayed out of the fight and was already cooking dinner over a campfire.
He handed out perfectly grilled meat, giving Maya the best piece.
“Eat up. You’ll need energy for whatever comes next.”
Maya bit into the tender meat.
It was delicious, even better than breakfast.
She smiled at Jasper.
“That’s four meals now. One more and you get your blood drop.”
Jasper just nodded without much reaction.
Maya looked around at her injured team, feeling relieved.
Without Sage’s healing powers, they would have been stuck here all day.
Now they could keep traveling and hopefully find shelter before dark.
Caleb sat nearby with his meat, but kept looking at Maya.
When Sage had healed her, her face had lit up with joy.
Her whole attitude toward Sage had become much warmer.
Something twisted in Caleb’s chest.
The meat tasted like nothing, ruining the small happiness he’d felt when she accepted his boots earlier.
After eating, Maya started to stand up.
Caleb immediately stepped forward, bending down to carry her like usual.
Maya quickly stepped back.
“No thanks. Hunter can carry me today.”
She could see Caleb’s rut symptoms were gone.
His red eyes weren’t burning with that intense need anymore.
And Caleb had yelled at her earlier.
She had pride too.
Why should she get close to someone who had been so harsh?
Caleb’s hand stopped in midair.
Pain flashed in his eyes for a second before he hid it.
His voice sounded flat.
“Fine. If you want Hunter, go ahead.”
Maya frowned.
What did he mean “want Hunter”?
That sounded strange.
She didn’t bother explaining.
Instead, she turned to Hunter. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
“Can you carry me? I know it’s only half a day, but I’ll count it as a full day. You’ll get blood tomorrow.”
Hunter thought Caleb would carry Maya today since he was in rut, so her request surprised him.
Getting paid in blood for giving her a ride was a nice bonus.
“Sure thing,” he said, shifting into his lion form.
Maya grabbed his mane and jumped onto his back easily.
Once Maya settled in, Hunter adjusted his position to make her more comfortable before starting to walk.
He kept his normal speed but made his steps much smoother than yesterday.
Maya didn’t have to grip his fur tightly anymore.
She could just rest her hands lightly.
“Hunter, where are we staying tonight?” Maya asked.
His voice had a slight growl but was clear.
“We need to find somewhere safe. Camping in the wild isn’t ideal with all these Aberrant beasts around.”
Maya nodded.
She definitely didn’t want to spend another night worrying about monster attacks.
Caleb walked behind Hunter, his dark red eyes fixed on Maya.
Watching her lying comfortably on Hunter’s back, smiling as she talked to him, made something twist painfully in Caleb’s chest.
He started glaring at Hunter with obvious irritation.
The other guys kept stealing glances at Maya too.
They were all curious about her behavior.
She was acting completely different from before.
They wondered what she was really planning.
The trip went smoothly without any more monster attacks.
As the sun started setting, they spotted smoke rising in the distance through the trees.
“Look,” Finn pointed ahead.
“That’s got to be a settlement.”
Hunter squinted at the smoke trails.
“Looks like we’re in luck. Let’s see if they’ll let us stay the night.”
As they got closer, they could see it was a decent sized settlement with a strong wooden fence around it.
Two deer beastmen were guarding the gate.
When they saw the group approaching, they looked ready to fight.
“State your business,” one guard called out, hand moving to his weapon.
Hunter stopped and raised his hands peacefully.
“We’re travelers looking for a safe place to spend the night. We can pay for lodging.”
The guard’s eyes went wide when he saw Maya.
Females were super rare in the beast world.
His suspicious expression changed completely.
“Wait here. I need to get the chief.”
Inside the settlement, Maya saw it was pretty big.
There were lots of houses made from wood and animal hide.
Many people had gathered to stare at the strangers, especially Maya.
Soon a tough looking middle aged man walked over.
He wore clothes made from animal hide and had a blue band on his arm, which meant he was really strong.
This was clearly the tribe chief.
The chief looked at Maya and his eyes immediately got bright.
He hurried over with a huge smile.
“Welcome, travelers! I’m the Deer Tribe chief. Call me Derek Brown.”
While he talked, he kept looking at Maya and thinking.
The whole Deer Tribe only had about twelve females.
If he could get this female to stay, it would be amazing for the tribe.
“We’re just looking for a place to rest for the night,” Maya said politely.
“We can pay for any trouble.”
Derek waved his hand.
“No payment needed! We’re really happy to have visitors!”
He led them deeper into the settlement and stopped in front of a wooden house that was much bigger than the other buildings.
“This house is empty. You can stay here. It’s clean and pretty comfortable.”
The wooden house was huge and covered with thick animal hide that made it look really fancy.
Maya felt bad about getting such special treatment.
She waved her hands quickly.
“Derek, this is too much trouble. Just give us any small empty place. We’re leaving early tomorrow morning.”
But Derek wouldn’t listen.
“No trouble at all! The house is empty anyway, so just make yourselves comfortable.” He smiled even bigger.
“Oh, and tonight we’re having a bonfire party. Maya, you should come if you want. It’ll be really fun.”
Derek’s smile got even brighter when she agreed.
After talking a bit more, he left to go home.
As soon as Derek got to his own house, he called for his son Noah Brown.
Noah was a C rank beastman who was tall and strong looking, full of energy.
“Dad, you wanted to see me?”
Derek patted his shoulder with a big smile.
“A beautiful and sweet woman has come to our settlement. You need to try to win her over!”
Noah’s face immediately turned red.
He had noticed Maya when she entered the settlement.
She was lying on Hunter’s back with the sunset behind her, looking gentle and pretty.
But thinking about the five men with her made him feel discouraged.
“Dad, she already has five mates. She won’t want me.”
Derek didn’t look worried.
“I looked carefully. That woman doesn’t have any mate marks on her, which means she hasn’t fully accepted those men yet. And only two of those men are C rank. You’re about to level up, so you definitely have a good chance!”